Welcome back for another look at Blu-ray and DVD highlights coming your way. You can read about them below and click on any links you see to check out full reviews. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie – The stars of the 90s BBC cult comedy series reunite in this big screen adaptation. This time out, the glamour-obsessed friends become media sensations and end up causing havoc on the French Riviera. Reviews were decent, although not spectacular. Most felt that it offered some funny moments, but didn’t live up to its best television episodes. It stars Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, and features cameos from Kate Moss, Jon Hamm, Joan Collins and Emma Bunton.
Baked in Brooklyn – This independent romantic comedy involves a nebbish young man who loses his day job and decides to start selling marijuana on the internet. His business is a success, but causes comic friction with his new girlfriend. It also doesn’t help that he develops a pot habit and attracts the attention of authorities. There aren’t any reviews available, so if you’re interested you’ll just have to take a chance. It features Josh Brener and Alexandra Daddario.
The BFG – Steven Spielberg adapts the classic Roald Dahl tale in this live-action family flick. Its all about a young orphan who befriends a big, friendly giant. Together, the pair set out to stop some mean and nasty giants from eating human beings. The movie didn’t catch on at the box office but did earn more positive notices than negative ones. All complimented the photography and a portion enjoyed it as a fanciful adventure, but several complained that it meandered and failed to capture the spirit of the original tale. It stars Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Rebecca Hall, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clemenet and Rafe Spall. You can read a full review of the film here.
Don’t Breathe – This intense horror/thriller was a surprise hit with audiences late in the summer. The story involves a trio of young thieves who break into a blind man’s house after learning that he may have collected a big trial settlement. Unfortunately, they don’t realize that the man himself may be disturbed and incredibly dangerous. Reviews were excellent for the film, stating that it was incredibly intense, visually striking and at times uncomfortably disturbing. The cast includes Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zavotto and Stephen Lang. Read a full length write-up of the flick here.
Pete’s Dragon – The 70s live-action Disney flick gets remade in this updated version that replaces the animated dragon for a CGI creation. It also cuts out all of the musical numbers. The story involves a young boy who gets lost in the northwestern wilderness after a tragic incident. He befriends a fire-breathing creature the helps him survive the elements. When he’s discovered by authorities, the kid must deal with humans out to capture his dragon pal, as well as reintegrate himself into society. Notices were very good overall, with most calling it sweet and sentimental. Still, a few did find it a bit too gentle and patronizing for its own good. It features Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley and Karl Urban. To read this site’s review, just click here.
White Girl – This independent flick has been described as a hedonistic tale of a college student who falls for a drug dealer. When he’s arrested and she’s left with his goods, the lead must move the product and pay off debts she has accrued from her wild ways. Overall, a few more members of the press liked it than disliked it. They wrote that the characters were hard to like and the movie didn’t always work, but they also admired the high energy level on display. The movie stars Morgan Saylor, Brian ‘Sene’ Mark and Chris Noth.
The Wild Life – Also known as Robinson Crusoe, this French/Belgian animated family feature updates the Daniel Dafoe tale by stranding the central character on an island populated with cute, talking animals. In particular, he befriends a parrot named Tuesday who helps him survive the elements. Reviews were extremely poor. The majority felt that the visuals were nice to look at, but the story and characters were bland and unmemorable. Of course, they also felt that it didn’t pay much service to the original story. The English-language voice cast includes Yuri Lowenthal, David Howard Thornton and Laila Berzins.
Blasts From the Past!
Arrow Video are always putting out fascinating cult titles and they have another oddity this week. The Driller Killer (1979) is a strange and disturbing little picture about an artist slowly driving himself insane. He works out his personal frustrations by attacking people with power tools. The unsettling feature marked the directorial debut of Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Body Snatchers). He also stars in the feature. The Blu-ray/DVD combo release includes a new restorations of two versions of the film (the theatrical version and a never-before-seen pre-release cut), an audio commentary with the director. It also includes an interview with Ferrara, a documentary on his career, a trailer and another special visiting the various locations used in the film.
Kino have a couple of curious Blu-ray titles. Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986) is a US/UK co-production that I missed during its original release. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of it until right now. It likely got a much bigger release in Britain than in North America. Anyway, this is a sci-fi adventure tale about a WWI pilot who learns that he has a “time twin” in the modern day. This means that the two can travel through portals and help each other out when danger arises. The movie was directed by John Hough (The Legend of Hell House, Escape to Witch Mountain) and includes Peter Cushing in the cast. It doesn’t exactly look like a very good movie, but it might be an amusingly cheesy nostalgia trip and chance to see something old (and in a way, new) from the 80s.
Finders Keepers (1984) is a “wacky” comedy from Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, The Three Musketeers, Robin and Marian, Superman II). The plot involves a scam artist on the run. While being pursued by a roller derby team he conned, the hero boards a train with a coffin and tries to pull off another chaotic scheme. It stars Miles O’Keefe, Beverly D’Angelo, Lou Gossett Jr., Ed Lauter, Brian Dennehy and Jim Carrey. Sounds like another fun time capsule of a film.
You Know, For Kids!
Looks like features are your best bet for kid-friendly entertainment. You’ll see them listed below.
The BFG
Pete’s Dragon
The Wild Life
On the Tube!
And it’s a quiet week on the TV front, but here’s what is coming your way this week.
A Chef’s Life: Season 4 (PBS)
House of Lies: The Final Season
NOVA: 15 Years of Terror (PBS)
NOVA: Super Tunnel (PBS)
Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music